ODU elite basketball camp both recruiting and teaching tool

Since the day he arrived on Hampton Boulevard, Old Dominion's Jeff Jones immersed himself in the local basketball culture and made the region's recruits and coaches a priority.

Jones and his staff aim not just to attract the area's top prospects, but also to provide a taste of college basketball when they come to campus.

That was the goal of the Jeff Jones Elite Camp, a one-day affair last Saturday that included a handful of ODU recruiting targets among the 70 players invited.

"Watching them play and having a chance to evaluate them is obviously beneficial," Jones said, "but it's important for us to set ourselves apart. We want to try to teach them something about what to expect in a college basketball environment."

Jones and the ODU staff ran the players through a series of drills in the morning, many of which were identical to what they do with their own players in practices and workouts. Players scrimmaged in the afternoon.

"The biggest lesson, hopefully, for them from the elite camp," Jones said, "is: A, how much more intensity is required in the college game and, B, the attention to detail in all areas if you're going to succeed as a college athlete. The group that we had really responded to all that."

Among the players at the Elite Camp were Edrice Adebayo, a 6-9 forward from Pinetown, N.C., rated No. 12 in the Class of 2016 by ESPN, Maury High point guard Matt Coleman, a top-20 prospect in the Class of 2017, guard Marcus Evans from Cape Henry Collegiate, and 6-6 rising junior Chris Orlina from Woodside, one of the state's best players in the 2016 class.

"All the player rankings, I don't pay a lot of attention to that," said Jones, who cannot discuss individual prospects, per NCAA rules. "But without question we had a lot of really good kids at the camp. I was extremely pleased, not just with the number of kids, but the caliber of competition."

All four play for local hoops guru Boo Williams' AAU travel teams.

"I would definitely say that JJ and the staff have done a really good job of reaching out to the local community," said Cape Henry coach Mark Hall, who also works with Boo's program and has known Jones and his assistants for years.

"The relationships have been there with me for a while," Hall said, "but they've worked hard to recruit homegrown kids and build relationships with local coaches. They make themselves available."

Hall, whose son Devon plays for Virginia, has two players in which ODU is interested: 6-5 wing Chris Clarke and Evans. Clarke has drawn power-conference school interest with his play for Boo's 17-and-under travel team and most recently at the NBPA camp in Charlottesville.

Clarke and Adebayo would be major recruiting coups for ODU. Adebayo already has scholarship offers from North Carolina, N.C. State and Kansas. Clarke has offers from, among others, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa State and Minnesota.

"It's too early to tell what they'll do," Hall said, "but I tell all my kids, be open to being recruited and listen to what people have to say, even if it's Division III. It's not just about playing at the highest level. There are so many other things to take into consideration: academics, family, playing time, where might be the best fit for you."

Said Boo: "You've got to try to keep the local kids home. If you get local kids who can play, that's a big help for your program. Even if you don't think you can get them, you've got to keep your hand in there with them. Make them tell you no."

Boo has known Jones since his days as a Virginia assistant coach in the 1980s and ODU assistant John Richardson since he coached at Woodside High. Monarchs assistant Bryant Stith played for Boo's teams in the '80s before going to Virginia and a subsequent 10-year NBA career.

Jones had similar camps for higher level prospects when he was head coach at American. In fact, nearly all programs have some sort of elite camp.

"But the distinct difference is that we had morning stations where we'd do drills and emphasize fundamentals," Jones said. "I sound like a broken record, but I really want to convey to kids who want to get to the college level how hard you have to play and the attention to detail that's necessary."

In other ODU hoops news: Jones said that third-year guard Deion Clark has progressed well from the knee injury that sidelined him all of last season. Clark plays without a brace and Jones said that he should be full-go by the start of next school year. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Also, Jonathan Arledge, a 6-9 forward from Silver Spring, Md., who transferred from George Mason to ODU, awaits approval from the NCAA for a medical redshirt year. He played in the Patriots' opener last year, but was sidelined the remainder of the season with back problems stemming from an auto accident.

Arledge chose to transfer for his final year of eligibility and will be able to play immediately because he earned a bachelor's degree, provided the NCAA approves his request for a medical redshirt.

"The paperwork is in the pipeline," Jones said. "I don't anticipate any problems."